Secrets She Kept » Harry Potter

Part 34

Petunia was a survivor. She had survived abuse from a former husband, the loss of her sister and even the death of her parents not even a year since that tragic night her sister Lily was murdered. She also survived heartbreak, volunteering to leave a small blooming relationship with a wizard before it became more serious. That was done for the protection of her children to have lives outside of the war that raged on all those years due to the influence of Voldemort in the wizarding world.

Those children had grown into young adults, beginning to live their own lives and make their own choices.

Yet Petunia had done everything in her power to keep the children safe from any terrible secrets of the past, a decision made for their protection if the wrong people knew of the association between her youngest three children and the agent that was spying on both sides of the war, there would be devastating consequences. Petunia knew they wouldn't hesitate to rid of her this earth and take her children captive, wishing to know any valuable information regarding the whereabouts of their cousin Harry. Harry was the centre of the master plan Voldemort had, he was the only wizard that threatened to murder him. Others were scared and Harry was the reason he had lost his life over and over again. Years Petunia had these secrets close to her chest.

Now it seemed karma had finally come for her, for all those years she had been a bitter and jealous sister. Not to mention the borderline abuse she had given to her nephew in the early years when he had been in her care. It had taken her so long to try to amend the pain she may have influenced upon him, yet Harry was too young to understand and therefore there was nothing for him to forgive. The cancer had spread from the original place in her body and her days were now limited on this earth.

Before she was too weak to accept the help of hospice care she had requested to choose the location of her death. She knew the place where she wanted to be buried, in the cemetery where her parents were buried. That meant assets were settled in Australia for Petunia to return with her children to the shores of England where she had escaped in the early days she had learned of the pregnancy of the twins. Petunia was instructed to rest as she watched her children pack her belongings in the small house she had called home for almost sixteen years. She overlooked Dudley look over drawings that had been collected of his younger siblings had made, even some of his own were inside the collection.

Harry had even travelled to help settle some of the affairs that Petunia had. Although it was merely the house and her vehicle which were sold quicker than she had anticipated. With each box packed, the more of the shell the home felt. All the happy memories were being packed away and replaced with the looming fear Petunia would be gone tomorrow. Although the children had tried, she saw the sadness on their faces as they participated in silent conversations with each other. All PEtunia could do was shallow another gulp of air, as they were limited like her days on this earth.

The flight from Australia to England was swift, her hand was held by George the whole tightly. He was afraid to let her go as his siblings sat in the rows in front and behind them for the duration of the flight. Petunia ignored any gazes from the general public that may give her look of sympathy, she was a strong woman despite her diagnosis. All she was worried about was going back to the home that she almost abandoned. Petunia had been informed she still owned the house and outside of his day job Harry would maintain the property as much as he could or pay someone from the local village for small odd jobs. It was a property that Petunia intended to keep in the family, her children needed a place to call home once she was gone from this world. She was a woman that planned ahead.

The first sight of the country home brought slight tears to Petunia's face. She wanted to linger in the car as she looked up at the deck which still sat her small wooden table where she had enjoyed tea parties with her sister when she was much younger and the odd occasion of glasses of wine with her past lover. "Welcome home mum," Dudley spoke in a careful voice as he helped her out of the rental car. He, himself looked over the property at the vague happy memories he held of chasing Harry through the nearby paddocks in the afternoon sun.